Chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic lung carcinoma has evolved slowly with limited progress between 1948 and the beginning of the 21st century. Until then, only minimal gains in long-term OS had been achieved, and the benefit of chemotherapy was discussed in a controversial manner. Fortunately, this was the very time when the rise of molecularly targeted agents started.
The introduction of molecularly targeted agents 15 to 20 years ago marked the beginning of a new era. Today, immune-checkpoint–inhibiting drugs have established yet another level of treatment. While both chemotherapy and targeted agents exert their effects directly at the tumor, which implies the eventual emergence of resistance, immunotherapy targets the immune system, enabling a certain percentage of patients to survive over extended periods of time.
On 28th and 29th June, 2018, a Lung Cancer International Preceptorship directed towards medical oncologists took place in Shanghai, China. The scientific provider was the Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital affiliated to the local Tongji University. In the course of these two days, lectures and workshops were held with the aim of improving the participants’ knowledge about lung cancer management in China and internationally.
